Home is Where the Heart Is
by Aliyah516
Summary: Tony has finally gotten his own unit, he's left behind his team & seems to be happy.. But they didnt part on good terms, Ziva least of all. So what happens when he goes back to work a case with his old team? How will Gibbs react to Tony's new authoritative position & his close relationship with Jenny? How will Ziva react to seeing Tony again? JENNY IS ALIVE TIVA McAbby and Jibbs
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey guys! SO this is my first NCIS fic, I started writing it ages ago but I only just got around to uploading it now, soooo.. tell me what you think.. like if it should be continued 'n' all! OMG GOIIZZZ I MISS ZIVA:( oh yeh and JENNY ISN'T DEAD IN THIS FIC!**

**And I don't have a beta yet (if anyone wants to volunteer..) so bare with meh 0.o**

**Enjoy all xx **

* * *

Jenny nodded solemnly to let Tony DiNozzo know that he could get back to work.

"So?" McGee asked.

"What did the director want?" Ziva asked almost childishly.

"The director didn't ask to see me, I wanted to have a word with her," Tony answered directly, not beating around-the-bush like usual.

Tony looked back down at his work without another word, leaving McGee and Ziva to look at him...suspiciously. Gibbs waltzed into the squad room, as usual he said "What you got?"

Just then Jenny entered the bridge. "Case closed," she announced, "The FBI just took Justin Smith into custody, turns out both Special Agent Seely Booth,and your MCTR were looking into the same person of interest; the FBI apprehended him an hour ago, all of you are free to go home," Jenny said with a tired grin.

Abby had just heard the news (undoubtably from McNewsreader) and had come to join the team with Ducky and Palmer in tow.

Without another word Tony decided to up and go as quietly as possible, only to be stopped by a soft, delicate hand on his arm.

"You have to tell them", Jenny told Tony.

"Tell us what?" the team chorused loudly, Gibbs loudest of all.

At Gibbs' sharp tone, Tony dropped his bag to the floor, he looked at all his co-workers confused, questioning faces.

"Tomorrow at 1900, I'm leaving for," after a short pause he continued," I'm leaving for Baghdad," said Tony not looking his co-workers in the eyes.

Gibbs stood stock still, Ziva looked to away with an odd sort of flame in her eyes, Abby covered her mouth with her hand and McGee silently collapsed in his seat.

For a short while the silence was unbearable. But it was soon broken by the least expected person.

"Why are you leaving?" whispered Timmy, as if he talked louder he would hurt his teams ears.

"Well, I've learnt a lot over the last 10 years of working with Gibbs, and with my experience and background in undercover ops.. I was given the opportunity to lead a new faction of agents liasoning between MI9, NCIS, CIA and the FBI, its specifically an anti-terrorism unit," smiled Tony.

"So, your leaving NCIS tomorrow", asked Ziva casually.

Tony nodded but didn't say anything, he looked down quickly, there was something about the way Ziva looked at him. He gathered all his possessions, only to be stopped by a sharp slap on the back of his head. Tony spun around and saw Gibbs standing behind him, with an unusual expression on his face.

"And if Jenny - sorry_ Director _Shepherd, hadn't stopped you.. when would you have mentioned this?" Gibbs asked dangerously softly.

"Well, I probably would have come in for a short time tomorrow and then told you", Tony explained trying to figure out what the look in Gibbs' eye was.

Tony slowly turned around, attempting to leave once again when Abby finally spoke, softly and very slowly.

"So thats it.. you just going to leave, no discussion - nothing."

Before Tony could even formulate an answer Ziva snapped...

"Of course he is Abby. He is a DiNozzo after all.. and you know how the saying goes.. when the going gets tough, the tough get going."

And with that she storms past Tony and disappears into the elevator.

Tony doesn't think twice about following her, not really caring that the rest of the team wasn't quite done with him. Tony feels the anger surge up within him, _oh so she gets that idiom right_, he thinks, all the while secretly happy she said something so hurtful, it will be easier to leave her that way.

He runs to the emergency exit, down the stairwell and manages to reach the ground floor before the elevator. When the doors open, they reveal a very furious and surprised looking Israeli.

"You know nothing about my family." Is all Tony can think of saying.

"I'd say I know enough Tony.. I mean you spent so much of your life trying not to be like your father that you didn't realize that the two of you are exactly the same," She yelled.

"My fathers decisions were different -" Tony's voice begins to rise.

"HOW WERE THEY DIFFERENT!?" Ziva cuts him off.

"MY FATHER LEFT AN 8 YEAR OLD CHILD TO LOOK AFTER HIS CANCER-RIDDEN LITTLE SISTER AFTER THEY JUST LOST THEIR MOTHER - I AM LEAVING A FULLY FUNCTIONAL GROUP OF ADULT PEOPLE THAT CAN COPE WITHOUT ME." Tony yelled back.

The silence that followed was overwhelming.. Zivas mind was spinning at Tony's slip-up, he mentioned a little sister.. one which hadn't been in his file..

"You're right Tony.. we don't need you now, we never did," was Zivas reply.

Tony eyes filled with hurt despite his earlier comment, suddenly a bitter smile took place on his face, "No, I guess you have Gibbs, he's all you've ever needed anyways right?"

"Right" Replied Ziva, taken aback by the implication of his words.

Without another word Tony spun on his heel and left, there was no longer anything to hold him back.

**A/N SO what'd yer think? It gets better I promise, like he's not gone for good yeh.. it would be hard to do a TIVA fic without Tony... that would just make it an IVA fic.. ok I'm obviously tired.. but hey Merry Christmas everyone!**

**R&R**

**Aliyah516 xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hey guys, thanx for all the follows and favourites and reviews.. Now I warn you.. this chap is a filler, so its short and has very little conversation.. at the end of this chap though I have a a little plan of what's to come in the story and I've already started to write it... so enjoy guys!**

* * *

_Home sweet home_, thought Tony bitterly, as he entered his apartment. The realization soon dawned on him that tonight would be the last night he slept in his own bed for a long time. Tony padded towards his bedroom, removing his shirt- as he walked bare chested to his wardrobe he felt a familiar pressure on his chest.

It was the necklace Ziva had gotten him from Israel years ago when she went to visit Rivkin. The yinyang necklace was his lucky charm and he barely ever took it off.

_*Flashback Begins*_

_Tony lay in his hospital bed after getting a through and through flesh wound in his right arm. McGee sat at the foot of the bed as Gibbs and Ziva walked through the door._

_"You got shot.. again," Gibbs said slowly, "I need coffee," he mumbled, leaving the room with McGee on his tail. _

_"You should be glad it was only a flesh wound," Ziva said._

_"Glad? I was wearing my lucky necklace," Tony replied._

_Ziva chuckled looking at the yinyang necklace she bought him, around his neck._

_"Still think its lucky huh?" Ziva smiled._

_"Well Zi, I'm me, and I'm alive ain't I?" Tony countered._

_*Flashback Ends*_

Tony lay down on his soft bed and drifted into a deep sleep, inwardly flinching about what he accidentally revealed to Ziva in his momentary outburst.

* * *

Meanwhile the rest of team Gibbs stood in the same position as when Tony left them. Not having an idea what to do they all turned to GIbbs, who was undoubtedly starring daggers at Director Shepherd. After about about 10 minutes she also turned to Gibbs, only to see him starring coldly at her. Gibbs rounded on Jenny.

"How long have you known Tony was leaving?" Gibbs asked Jenny clearly aggravated.

"I swear Jethro, I only found out half an hour before you," Jenny said slowly, trying to calm Gibbs down.

"Bull Jen, when did you really find out?" spat Gibbs.

Hearing the tone of Gibbs voice, Jenny taught the best thing to do was walk away, a method that proved sufficiently effective when she had done so in Paris, so she turned around and began to walk back to her office.

"Director shepherd!" Gibbs said with a raised voice.

The cold harshness in Gibbs' voice, made Jenny Shepherd stop dead in her tracks, turning around to a broken team Gibbs, she looked Gibbs straight in the eye and said.

"You tell me Special Agent Gibbs, you're the one with the gut feelings."

And with that she stalked up the stairs into her office, though she could feel everyone eyes looking from Agent Gibbs to her. She felt a little guilty, she hadn't meant for her words to sound so bitter, especially when Gibbs and the team were hurting so badly.

With one last glare in her direction Gibbs moved to take his seat in the squadroom, taking it as a cue the rest of the team followed suit.

Abby was the one who broke the awkward silence, "So now what do we do?" she asked Gibbs, in soft voice as though she was seeking advice from her father.

"Abby, do I look like I honestly care?" he replied angrily, either not hearing or ignoring the childishness in her voice.

Abby just stood up and walked to the elevator.

"I thought you actually _cared_ about your team," Abby replied as the elevator door clinked shut.

McGee opened his desk looking for something, anything to do. _It's been so long since I actually opened my top draw_, McGee thought. As he scrumaged through its contents, his mind kept replaying what had just occurred in the bull pen between Tony and the rest of the team.. Tony's hesitance, Ziva's anger, Jenny's compassion when dealing with Tony, Gibbs's indifference... His hand hit a smooth but hard surface and upon looking down he spotted a frame in his draw, he dusted the dust off and saw a picture of his team, his _original_ team.

McGee smiled as he saw the picture.

Gibbs was in the middle of everyone, he had one arm around Tonys neck, and the other around Kate's waist. Tony had his right hand in McGee hair ruffling it. Abby, McGee, Tony, Gibbs and Kate were holding one another like family rather than a team, each with a radiant smile lighting up their face.

All the men in the team wore, black suit coats a white shirts and grey jeans and black converses, their ties undone around their necks. Whilst Kate and Abby wore knee length black strapless dresses with different colour wedges.

_Gibbs was happier when Kate was around_, Timmy thought to himself.

He opened his draw again to look for a spare copy of the photo in the bottom of the draw. When he finally found it, McGee packed up his back pack and walked past Gibbs' desk placing the photo frame on it. Gibbs didn't look up, so McGee headed to the elevator to give Gibbs some privacy.

Gibbs did nothing as McGee left, but when he was gone Gibbs picked up the frame and registered what he was looking at. He smiled as he looked at the photo, remembering the day that photo was taken.

He absent mindedly looked at Tony's empty desk. He no longer had his SFA; his partner of 7 years was gone.. beneath all the anger at Jenny, Gibbs felt somewhat betrayed by Tony... _But Tony is a grown man and knows what he's doing, he's moving on, and so should we,_ Gibbs thought to himself.

As he picked up his bag to go home, Gibbs spared one more glance at Tony's vacated desk, and instant memories of Tony leaning back on his chair with his legs up, eating Chinese takeaway and teasing McGee came to mind.

"Easier said than done," Gibbs growled to himself.

**A/N donnneeeeee.. um.. also next chapter I'm skipping ahead a few months to Baghdad with Tony's new unit, so I'll introduce them all together as they are at that point and then I'll do flashbacks about how they met 'n' stuff. Meanwhile I'll show how Team Gibbs is dealing with the DiNozzo departure toot toot.. That way I can get to the Tony coming back and dealing with everything part oh oh oh and keep in mind that Tony does have a sister in my fic.. I'll get back to that later! **

**R&R as always xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey Everyone! Thanx for the follows, reviews, favourites and just reading. Sorry this took me a while to upload, it was a little hard to write up.. But I'm pretty excited to hear some of your opinions of the characters (which are based on the real characters incase your were wondering...) OH AND I'M NOT DISCRIMINATING OR MAKING OF FUN OF OCD.. AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT IT IN THE DIAGNOSED SENSE, I'm sorry if I insult and anyone, believe me it was not my intention...**

**In response to some of the reviews though;**

**Guest 1: Thankyou for calling this fic epicly epic, and hahaha I dunno about Chuck Norris but I'd much rather you read my fic than him xx**

**Guest 2: I'm so sorry but I actually need to do flashbacks and I completely agree that they can disrupt the flow of the story, so I promise I'll try to make it flow:)) xx**

**nando2k50: Firstly I love the username, and I hope this chap answers some of your questions...**

* * *

**Soundtrack Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits**

* * *

It was 10pm and Tony DiNozzo was currently leaning forward with his head resting on his desk.

Tony thought calmly to himself, _peace, silence, peace, silence, peace, silen-_

"Tony! Ressler and Tom are having a desk surfing competition and while its entertaining, it looks like a hurricane has hit _all_ the bull pens.. EJ's gonna flip tomorrow!" Peter said loudly, barging into Tony's office.

Tony groaned as he pushed himself off his desk.

"Freakin' desk surfing in the middle of a freakin' anti terrorism unit - in the middle of a freakin' war zone - in the middle of the freakin' night, and they freakin' call themselves adults - It's not funny Peter!" Tony exclaimed, having heard Peter laugh at him mumbling.

7 Months ago when he had just met Peter, Tony wouldn't have been able to imagine Peter Quinn smiling let alone acting jovial. But a lot had happened in the 7 months they'd known eachother..

* * *

_*Flashback*_

_Tony looked at his reflection in the mirror. Today was his first day at work in Baghdad, instead of his suit Tony wore a thin white shirt and beige pants. _

_He turned around at the sound of his cellphone ringing. Abby's face showed up on this caller ID, he sighed while hitting ignore. _

_Everytime she called in the past 72 hours Tony had repeated the same process.. looking at the caller ID.. Hitting ignore.. Reminding himself why he was hitting ignore... and telling himself that he was making a clean break._

_Before NCIS, Tony had never stayed in one place for more than two years.. Then Gibbs and the rest of the team happened and 10 years later Tony had decided that it was finally time to move on.._

_It was this weird complex that Tony had had his whole life, he couldn't protect the people he cared about. Of course it had all started with loosing his mother, then eventually his sister, then Kate, Paula, Michelle, Jeanne, Balboa, Danny, Abby (when she was attacked by Chip) and even Ziva in some ways. He couldn't bare the thought of his team dying, and from the way Ziva, Gibbs and McGee had been acting recently.. they didn't really need him. The way Tony saw it, the best way to not get hurt was to not get attached, this was a philosophy he applied to __all__ his relationships and it was effective enough - so there was no reason it shouldn't work with his team._

_A knock on the door pulled Tony back into reality._

_Tony got startled as he opened the door, the man on the other side was wearing a similar startled expression._

_The man on the other side of the door looked very very like himself, they had the same shaped green eyes, the same build and height and the same shinny hair. Otherwise the other man was almost unhealthy in his skinny-ness, a ghostly pale colour as though he hardly went out into the sun, and his hair was jet black._

"_Is this a joke?" He asked Tony suspiciously._

"_Um.. Not unless the joke's on me," Tony replied equally as suspicious._

"_Ok," The man said walking past Tony and into the bare apartment, seemingly unaffected by what had just came to pass._

"_I'm your security detail and your on the ground ops manager, my name is Peter Quinn," Peter said._

_A little stunned by Peter's harsh demeanor yet pleasant manors, Tony replied only after a moment, "Anthony DiNozzo, you can call me Tony."_

"_Mmm.. I know," Quinn said absent-mindedly as he scanned the contents of the room._

"_Lets see... Peter Quinn, ex-CIA Black Ops, born and bred in Brooklyn, first charged with aggravated assault on your father aged 15, at 16 travelled through New York, Chicago, stayed a while in New Orleans leaving a mess behind, until you were taken to the CIA where you were made into an Elite Shadow Operative." Tony recited from memory, smiling a little at Peter's dumbfounded expression, and counting his reaction as a victory._

"_Uhhh... Yup, basically," Peter commented awkwardly, "I'm also afraid of ducks." He added as an after thought._

_Tony raised his head to look at the misunderstood man infront of him, "I am too Peter, I am too..."_

_*End of Flashback* _

* * *

As Tony emerged from his office he saw Jem at the foot of the stairs starring at Ressler and Tom jump from desk to desk.

Whilst Peter stopped next to Jem, Tony walked straight past the both of them and pulled the table out from beneath Toms and Resslers feet. They fell to the ground with a bang, still smiling.

"Hey you two are supposed to be assisting me in catching terrorists not assisting my ever present need to beat the shit out the both of you." Tony said, trying _and _failing to be angry at them.

"Jem, what was Tony's case closure rate at NCIS in DC?" Tom asked breathily.

"Stay out of this James." Tony laughed, pointedly looking at Jem.

"98.6%" Jem said, smiling gently at his co-workers.

"I may be wrong but isn't that like.. .1% less than our closure rate of 98_.7_%?" Ressler asked, "I'd say we're not doing a bad job of _assisting_."

"Very clever guys.. Make as many excuses as you want now, just remember that no later than tomorrow morning you will face the wrath of one Erica Jane Barrett!" Tony warned them.

"Come on, I don't understand why everyone thinks that EJ has OCD.. She seems perfectly fine to me," countered Ressler.

"Whenever she eats anything at her desk, she pushes her chair away from her desk, she stands up and dusts the crumbs onto the desk, then folds any wrappers symmetrically and so the coloured side is up, smooths them out, collects all the crumbs from all angles of her desk onto the wrapper, pushes her chair back under her desk and throws them into the _recycling_ bin... And you don't know why we all think EJ has OCD." Peter asked, astonished that Ressler hadn't picked up on the behaviour.

"Shhhh... Peety! You know too many words only confuses him," Tom said.

Ressler lay on the ground, "Whatever, I definitely would've won that competition Tommy" He breathed out quickly.

"You keep telling yourself that, yer yankee," Tom said pushing himself off the ground.

They both looked at Tony slyly, "I know your disappointed padre, but it was a dare.." Tom said breathlessly.

Tony looked at Ressler expectantly, "Jem dared us."

* * *

_*Flashback*_

"_So what'll we be getting up too today?" Tony asked, as he and Quinn made their way to the car._

"_Today you are meeting the rest of the managing team. So there's the two MI9 guys, your deputy James Alistair, and his tough and gruff security detail Tom Hardman. You'll also be meeting the on the ground tactical support liaison from the FBI, Donald Ressler," Peter said, sounding bored._

* * *

_Tony and Quinn made their way into the secure facility in Baghdad, this facility would be Tony's new operations centre for the next part of his life._

_There was a total of 23 people in the bull pen complex's and they all nodded to Tony as they organised there belongings._

_As Peter opened the door for Tony and himself, Tony saw that 3 people stood in vacant space that was to become Tony's office. _

_The man with reddish-brown hair stepped forward first. He was not as tall as Tony and Peter, but at the same time he wasn't short either, his hair was slicked back and he had dark blue eyes. Immediately Tony knew he would like this man._

"_Donald Ressler," He said in a deep voice, gripping Tony's hand with an uncomfortable expression on his face. _

_The next man was taller and broader than Tony, he had brown eyes and messy brown hair. _

"_Tom Hardman," He said with a voice as deep as Resslers, only with a thick English accent. _

_Both men looked slightly younger than himself, Tony looked at the man who was approximately his age, __with shoulder length silver hair and matching eyes. He'd _been lurking in the background, only now that the rest of the introductions were over did he step forward with a pleasant smile on his face.

"_You must be James Alistair ," Tony said pleasantly, reaching forward to shake James' outstretched hand._

_The man nodded, "Call me Jem and your Anthony DiNozzo right?" _

"_The one and only," Tony laughed._

"_Sort of anyway," A female voice said from behind him._

_The voice was so familiar that instantly Tony spun on his heel, stopping short on none other than EJ herself._

"_EJ!" Tony exclaimed, enveloping her in a bear hug. _

"_Hey Sparky!" She laughed._

_*End Flashback*_

* * *

**Peter Quinn - Homeland**

**James Alistair - James Carstairs (The Infernal Devices)**

**Donald Ressler - The Blacklist**

**Tom Hardman - Tom Hardy (Lawless) **

* * *

**A/N SOOOO What'd yer think? For those of you who hate EJ.. dont worry, nothing is gonna happen between them during this fic! And sorry about the lack of Team Gibbs in this chap, they'll be in the next one.. and then I reckon in the chap after that Tony and his team will go back to DC..**

**Questions? Thoughts? R&R**

**Aliyah516 xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N HELLLOOOO EVERYONE! HAPPY NEEEWWWWWWWW YEARRRRRRRRR! I'm so glad 2013 is over.. it was kinda the worst year of my life:/ anywayyysss sorry it took me so long to update.. but a lot happens in this chapter... and I mean A LOT!**

**Guest 1: hahaha I plan too xx**

**Guest 2: heheh thanx, but I didn't want to make you sad :( xx**

**Guest 3: OH MER GOOODDDDD I LOVE SUITSSSSSSSSSSS ITS AMAZING and hahahaha it was kinda unconsciously done:) thanx btw xx**

**Guest 4: I hope to complete but bear with me.. hehehehe see what I did there? :P xx**

**Guest 5: If your still reading...Look mate sorry this story is for you and I'm sorry I'm not a 'good writer' but hey I don't think anyone else feels as though I'm leading them by the hand. I hope you find a fic thats good enough for you eventually.**

**Guest 6: Yeh, there were a lot of flashbacks last chap.. sorry if they aren't your thing.. but I dont really have many planned for now:)**

* * *

_**Soundtrack - Burn by Ellie Goulding**_

* * *

The sharp ring of Tony's phone pulled him out of his slumber.

"DiNozzo," He said, running a hand through his hair and looking his wrist watch reading 0430.

"Woa! That sounded really serious.." McGee's voice said.

"Don't judge probie, it's 4:30 a.m!" Tony groaned.

"Oh well! How are you?" McGee asked nervously.

"Did I mention it was 4:30 in the morning?" Tony laughed, "Is everything ok Timmy?" He added more seriously.

"Define ok... Gibbs has been in a scary mood, Ziva and the new guy are _really_ close and Abby spends her timing planning your death." McGee blurted out.

"Sorry man, it'll get better." Tony said yawned, trying to ignore the 'Ziva' statement.

"Give me a time and place, and I'll rendezvous it, I'll fly you to it,." McGee said dryly.

"Quoting Bieber? Really?" Tony teased.

"The very fact that you knew I was quoting Bieber shows that you could too, and its actually Big Sean.."

"Quoting Big Sean..." Tony said skeptically.

"So how's the new guy?" Tony added casually.

"He's actually a lot like you." McGee said, "He's arrogant, moody, vain, egotistical, annoying.."

"Nice to hear that our time apart hasn't effected your opinion of me at all." Tony remarked.

"Only he ignores me point blank, and he spends anytime he can flirting with Ziva.. and it seems like she's finally caved." McGee said, ignoring Tony's earlier comment.

"What? Gibbs is letting them date or something?" Tony asked Timmy.

"I don't really know.. I mean he speaks even less than usual and he doesn't comment on them.." Timmy said cautiously, "I think thats what's pissing him off more than anything else."

Tony's head started to spin. McGee was the only one on his old team he kept in contact with, and even that was an occasional called once in a couple months. But he had never mentioned the new team member before, nor Gibbs letting them break his number one rule.

"Alright Timmy, I'm going back to sleep.. I'll call you back at some point though." Tony promised.

"Yeah sure." McGee sounded a little more put out but Tony needed time to gather his thoughts.

They exchanged goodbye's and Tony fell back against his pillow. Just as he began to doze off, his phone rang once more.

Grumpily Tony picked it up, "DiNozzo" He growled into the speaker.

"We found him." Jem said from the otherside of the phone call.

Tony sat up in bed rapidly, "Where is he.. In Iraq? Afghanistan? Kabul?" Tony questioned breathlessly.

"He's here Tony," said Jem, quietly.

Tony raced out of bed to put on a shirt, "Are on your way to HQ?" Tony asked.

"I'm about 5 minutes out from your house," Jem said, having read Tony's mind.

"And Tom.. Peter.. Ressler.. they're -" Tony asked.

"Tom is with me, Peter and Ressler are at the site standing by.." He said.

* * *

Tony, Jem and Tom raced through security and up to MTAC with their hearts in their mouths.

It took a moment for Tony's eyes to adjust to the darkness. On the screen there was live footage of a dark air-strip.

They all put on a headpiece each.

Tony took a deep breath, attempting to calm the queasiness in his stomach before saying, "This is Tango-Eight, do you copy?"

After a moment of nervous waiting Ressler's gruff and oddly nervous sounding voice came through the headpiece.

"Tango-Eight nice of you to finally join us, all unit are standing by waiting for the order."

"Aymaan Abdul is the terrorist behind the most recent Hawaii bombing, he also orchestrated the attacks in Britain and New York. Your orders are to proceed with extreme prejudice, with the exception of his right hand, Ahkmahn Array" Tony said sharply.

"Do you copy?" Jem said, as Tom handed them both a piece of mini-mouse bubble gum.

A series of 'copies' followed. Tony covered his mic with his hand as he put the gum into his mouth.

Looking at Tom he said, "Did I tell you this gum is American?"

Tom repeated the same action of covering his mic.

"Only everytime I hand it to you." Tom smiled.

Tony laughed nervously and Jem looked over him, his eyes stopping at Tony's neck.

Peter's voice sounded in their headpiece's. "Don't worry Tango-Eight, we'll get them."

"I know.. I just I wish I could be there." Tony sighed.

"Then you've chosen the wrong job," Peter laughed.

"Oh poppycock... we'll be fine, Tony's wearing his lucky necklace," Jem said.

_OF COURSE! He was looking for my necklace, _Tony thought to himself.

"How'd you know it was lucky?" Tony asked, smiling at Jem's deliberate over-English-ness.

"Your hand always goes to your neck to check it's there when your making a decision or in a gun fight." Jem announced.

"I hadn't realised you had time to observe me whilst we were in a gun fine," Tony said sharply.

"Touchy aren't we? Who's the lucky girl?" Jem asked quietly.

"James, may we discuss this later!" Tony sighed, no longer nervous.

"Abdul and Array are emerging from the car, they have four body guards infront and behind them," A voice said through the headpiece.

"This mission is a go, all units are cleared for action." Tony said clearly, snapping into action.

He looked over at Jem who had paled slightly and reached his hand forward to bump fists with him.

Jem smiled at Tony as the the dark air-strip lit up due to the firefight.

Tony's eyes searched for his men, but it was impossible to see who was who.

And then as suddenly as the fighting began, it ended, the air-strip fell into silence.

"Was the target eliminated?" Tony asked hurriedly.

"Affirmative," Came Ressler's hesitant voice from the other end of the line.

"What happened?" Tom questioned.

"He said.." Peter faltered, "He said... it doesn't end with me. Tick Tock."

Tony's stomach dropped, but all he said was good job everyone.

* * *

Tony and Jem immediately reported to SecNav and the Director, telling them about what took place.

"We've heightened security around all the secure bases in Baghdad. Although I'm still not sure if what Abdul said was just his Swan Song and he was trying to scare the shit out of us.." Tony reasoned.

"Sir.. Agents Ressler and Quinn are bringing Ahkmahn in for questioning." Jem said.

"Okay, DiNozzo I want you to deal with the questioning." Vance said.

"Understood Director." Tony answered.

"And Gentlemen," SecNav called with a small smile, "That's a job well done."

When the feed cut the trio headed back up the stairs and out of MTAC, only to be greeted by the full Baghdad unit. All of which were applauding Tony, Jem and Tom.

Jem stepped forward with a kind smile on his face when the applauds died down.

"Thankyou everyone, but we didn't do it on our own.. God knows how many sleepless hours have gone into finding Abdul, so we should all take this as a victory." Jem smiled flawlessly.

Turning to Tony he whispered, "Say something.."

"Um.. Well done everyone." Tony said nervously.

"Spoken like a true leader?" EJ said loudly.

"I wasn't done Erica Jane.'' Tony said, earning a chuckle from his people.

He took a breath before speaking.

"Look guys, Jem is right.. this is a victory, but tonight we also got a warning. Truthfully, we don't know if it was a bluff or not. Yes, we've gotten the world's most wanted terrorist but you all know as well as I do, no terrorist is less dangerous than another. And there are many _many_ more out there to catch."

"So what do say we catch every last one of them sir?" One of the younger agents said loudly, looking at Tony.

"That was kinda the effect I was going for." Tony said, running a hand through his hair, "Now get back to work," Tony smiled.

Turning around Tony came face-to-face with Tom. "Not bad for an Americano."

* * *

"Ahkmahn." Tony said as he sat down across from the man himself.

"What gave me away?" He said in a deeply accented voice, smiling.

"Well.. it was kinda the company you keep." Tony played along.

"My mistake, the company you _kept._" Tony corrected, registering Ahkmahn's eyes flashing briefly.

"It doesn't end with me. Tick Tock. Tell me what it means?" Tony asked.

"Will I get a deal?"

"Will you tell me?" Tony countered.

"You lie, Anthony DiNozzo.. You do not make deals with terrorists like me." Ahkmahn laughed.

"Well I guess I don't need a confession," Tony said sarcastically.

"Why would I lie? Jihad is an honorable reason to kill... to die, what do you fight for, your country? As if they're the innocent one's, you're governments are corrupt, your men bloodthirsty. They seek only to kill, using 'honour' as an excuse." Ahkmahn professed.

"We do not fight for honour Ahkmahn, we do not fight for _our_ freedom and we certainly do not kill in the name of God. I fight for the people I love, I fight so that my kinsmen and they're families and friends can live withour fear... with grand illusions of the world being just and good, so they do not feel the terror _you _try to instill in them. Tell me when and where the attack with be." Tony said calmly.

Ahkmahn looked at his watch. A moment later he said. "Now, where your heart lies."

Tony jumped out of his seat, knocking it over as he ran out the door. He pulled out his phone and dialed Vance's number.. Which went straight to voicemail. As he ran up the stairs he immediately pressed number 1 on his speed dial.

He came out at the ground floor where most people were on the phone, Jem and Ressler included, and EJ had turned on the TV.

"Gibbs," A gruff voice answered.

"GIBBS GET OUT OF THE BUILDING-"

The phone line went dead.

* * *

**A/N Cliffy! So what did you think of that? I told you this chapter was a lot to take in!**

**Tell me what you think R&R**

**Aliyah516 xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hey guys! SURPRISE ANOTHER UPDATE! I had to do it.. don't judge though, I wrote it in like an hour an a bit and I didn't have it beta'd. Which brings me to my next exciting news.. for me at least...**

**I HAVE A BETA! -missmerrymak- So she's an author too.. If you have time check out some of mah main girl's fics!**

**Replies to Guest Reviews;**

**amaia; I'm glad you like it and I think Tony would make a great team leader too. hahaha well I guess you'll just have to wait and find out about rule 12 :P xx**

**helle; I know it was a mean cliff hanger but I gave you another chapter as quick as I could so I hope that makes up for it. hahaha the bromance is endgame and I'm sorry about the short chaps:( xx**

**bea; hahaha I know it isn't exactly when you wanted to read it but... its better than reading the update tomorrow! xx**

**dls; thankyouuuuu! xx**

**Enjoy this chap everyone I hope its not too OOC!**

* * *

_**Soundtrack – Be Still by The Fray**_

* * *

Tony watched the TV screen in horror as the front of NCIS HQ exploded in a fiery blaze.

He felt a strong urge to throw-up as his legs decided to give way on their own accord. Before he could hit the ground through, Tony felt someone's arms holding him up.

"Easy, you don't know for certain that they were in there.." Jem's voice said soothingly, whilst lowering him to the ground.

It was like Tony was listening to him from a distance. He wanted to tell Jem that someone would have to have been in there. Maybe not his team, but definitely one of his friends. Somehow Tony couldn't talk.

He briefly heard Jem tell someone to fetch him some water before joining Tony on the ground.

"In a moment, shit is going to hit the fan and you need to be ready Tony," Jem said, there was no accusation in his voice only honesty.

Tony ran his hands through his hair and Ressler said, "We're with you."

Slowly, Tony comprehended that Ressler's voice came clearly to him, and after Tony had a drink of water he pushed himself off the floor shakily.

"Peter, find out the casualties." Tony said, surprised by the evenness of his own voice.

Peter nodded before leaving and Tony watched him go registering everyone's eyes were on him.

"We have Ahkmahn in custody people. Find out the means, the method and specifically who was behind it.. Abdul is dead so clearly he didn't do it and clearly we didn't get the whole picture. Find the connection." He said and everyone jumped into action.

Tony's phone started to ring and Jenny popped up on his caller ID.

Before Tony answered he scribbled down a number and handed it to Jem.

"See if she's okay." Was all Tony said.

* * *

NCIS was in chaos. Ziva was heading out from Abby's lab elevator when she was blown off her feet.

When Ziva came too she looked around. Her head was buzzing and she struggled to focus on anything, she stood up reflexively before tripping on something.

At first she thought it was a large piece of concrete, but she soon identified it as a body.

Falling to her knee's she looked wildly for a pulse. He was Lenny.. NCIS' postman.

Ziva shed a tear, praying that the rest of her team was safe.

She could hear many sirens in the distance and she could her voices too. But she couldn't see anyone.

A shrill ring caught her attention.

"Hello," she said, disoriented.

"Hello," Came are relieved English voice from the other end of the line.

"Who is this?" Ziva asked, climbing to her feet unsteadily.

"My name is James Alistair. I'm a friend of Tony's.. I was told to check if-"

"Tony...? I'm fine, I have to find my team." Ziva said hurriedly, trying to block out her thoughts.

But it was too late, the shock had started to settle in. Last time with Harper Dearing, Tony was with her and he didn't give her a chance to think about the explosion. But now he wasn't and she had no idea if anyone on her team was safe..

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." The voice on the phone said soothingly, as if he knew what was happening to Ziva.

"Ziva..." She said, her whole body was trembling as she entered the bullpen, a shiver ran down her spine.

Tim lay there. Not moving. Blood covered his neck.

Ziva dropped her phone and ran to him. She refused to touch his pulse in case she felt nothing. Instead she shook him, she started to cry, but she only shook him harder until...

"Ziva?" McGee said groggily.

Ziva stopped and looked down at his confused face. Wordlessly, she pulled him up and even in his disoriented state he still wrapped an arm around her.

Just then Ziva saw people rush into the building and she let out a sigh of relief.. at least McGee would be safe.

* * *

"Jenny, did you hear?" Tony said hurriedly, when he entered his office.

Her voice came through after a moment, but she was talking slowly.

"Yes.. I.. I was in my office when it happened."

"You were- what do you mean? I thought you were on holiday." Tony said angrily. Of course it wasn't something to get angry about, but nonetheless here stood Tony DiNozzo, frothing at the mouth.

"I came back early, and my office is completely destroyed." Jenny said softly, "Gibbs was with me when you called him, he pushed me onto the ground behind my desk just in time." She continued.

"Gibbs" Tony breathed, "Is he alright?"

"He has a concussion and _I_ think he has a broken rib, but he'll live. I don't know about the rest of the team before you ask. Gibbs is currently searching for them." Jenny said.

Tony took a deep breath. "Jen, I'm sorry, I should've-"

"Don't do that to yourself Tony, your orders we to eliminate Abdul, you had no idea about this." Jenny said quietly.

"Get your team and head over here on the next flight out, alright?" Jenny said, back to her authoritative ways.

"Yes, Director Shepherd." Tony sighed.

* * *

Gibbs looked frantically through the crowd for his team.

He had escaped the medics by diverting all the attention to Jenny who had fixed him with a hard stare, but understood why had done it.

He heard a familiar squeak and instantly forgot the pain in his chest. Abby wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer.

"Abby, are you alright?" Gibbs asked, but he already knew she was.

Unlike last time, the explosive device was directed towards the the front of NCIS.. not Abby's lab.

"Yeh, Palmer came to find me as soon as he made sure Ducky was alright." Abby said slightly hysterically.

Gibbs made a mental note to thank Palmer later.

"Where's Timmy, and Ziva and Erik?" Abby whined, her eyes filling up with tears.

Gibbs promised to find them and continued on his quest.

A moment later Erik came striding through the crowd, he had a blackeye, nothing less and nothing more.

"I was in interrogation and the force slammed my face into the door," He said, somewhat proudly.

Gibbs shook his head, walking past the man. His gut said that Ziva would be at the helm of the ship, so he made his way to the main explosion site.

Just short of arriving he heard an angry Israeli voice say, "I am fine, there could be people that need you in there, but I don't need you nor do I want you. So leave me alone or else I'll take that flashlight and I'll shove it up you-"

"Ziva" Gibbs said, relief flooding his voice.

As Ziva looked at him, her expression changed from anger to vulnerability. He pulled her towards him and gave her a bear hug, ignoring the pain once more.

"McGee," Gibbs said, searching Ziva's dirty face for any real injuries.

"They're about to take him to hospital in the ambulance. Everyone is okay, yes?" She asked.

"Yes," Gibbs said, earning him a small smile, "Erik walked into a door."

She let out a bark of laughter, "I know, I saw him." Was all she said.

Gibbs moved to walk towards the ambulance Ziva had pointed too, but stopped when Ziva said, "James Alistair called to check if I was safe."

Gibbs smiled slightly, recognising the name. "Yeh, Tony is about the only reason the director is still alive."

* * *

Tony was sick of speaking to politicians at this point. He'd spoken to everyone from the Secretary of State to the British Prime Minister. Peter had come in when Tony was talking to Jerome Craig, an agent being bred for an executive role. Peter got a pen and paper and wrote _'approximately 27' _on it.

Jem knocked lightly on Tony's office door, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Is she ok?" Tony asked immediately.

"Ziva? Yeh I think she's okay.. she kinda hung up on me though." Jem said.

"Oh good, she's fine then." Tony relaxed a little.

"Errr... actually maybe you should give her a call, I have the distinct feeling that she would've preferred to talk to you." Jem said.

"Yeah, well I have the distinct feeling she wouldn't have." Tony mimicked, a smile creeping onto his face.

"I also have the distinct feeling she had a panic attack on the phone." Jem said, and he watched Tony's slight smile falter.

"So man... the lucky necklace was given to you by Ziva?" Jem said coyly.

"You always have impeccable timing," Tony muttered.

"No time like the present." Jem said.

"James. We're going to DC, tell the others." Tony said in a 'drop it' tone, looking at his watch he continued. "We fly out in three and a half hours."

* * *

**A/N soooooooo I hope you guys _kinda_ liked it! the good news is now we can get some TIVA HAPPENING AND JIBBS BUT TIVA ! dsjhfbhjfbf jrhbrbh,jv,w ra**

**I'M. SO. EXCITED.**

**As always R&R!**

**Aliyah516 xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Hey guys... I gotta a few PMs asking whether I'm continuing this story or not and I am hhahahaha it just took a little linger than usual.. This chap was actually harder to write than I thought it would be, I mean while I know how I want it to be in my head, it hard to put that into words:) **

**Anyway I do hope that you enjoy! And Palmer and Tony got a little bromance for those who were asking;)**

* * *

**_Soundtrack - Superman by Five for Fighting_**

* * *

_Previously on Home is where the heart is..._

"James. We're going to DC, tell the others." Tony said in a 'drop it' tone, looking at his watch he continued. "We fly out in three and a half hours."

* * *

Tony, Jem, Tom, Peter and Ressler made their way out of the airport. Unlike their usually casual cloths in Baghdad, they were all clad in suits. Tony's was black as usual, Peter's was charcoal, Ressler's and Jem's was grey and Tom's, navy blue.

Tony strode uneasily towards the airport exit, only to be stopped by a hand pulling him back from the automatic doors.

"Do you even know what _security detail_ means?" Peter sighed.

"Sorry, the 12 hour flight kinda messed with my head.." Tony said distractedly.

Just then a confused-looking but familiar face walked through the doors. He had flecks of healing red spots on the side of his face and a bandage on his ankle.

"Dorney?" Tony said stepping forward, relief on his face.

"Tony - I mean Special Agent DiNozzo- Sorry SAC DiNozzo," Dorneget stuttered.

Tony smiled, "It's still Tony man. I'm glad your alright."

Dorney looked uncomfortable at the politeness displayed by Tony.

The introductions were made quickly and on the way to the car Jem looked at Tony with an amused expression.

"Is he always so.." He paused, looking for the right word, "Nervous."

"Thats Dorney for you." Tony answered with a slight smile.

"Agent Dorneget, will we be meeting Director Shepherd in an alternate location since NCIS HQ was.. comprimised." Jem said more loudly.

"Yes, we've taken refuge in the security sector of the navy yard." Said Dorneget quickly.

* * *

Tony was relieved to be greeted by a familiar face as he entered the temporary NCIS HQ.

"Tony its nice to see you again." Th security guard said, stepping forward.

"Your a lucky man Jeff.. I thought the front of NCIS was hit the worst." Tony exclaimed, reaching for his hand.

"I wasn't on duty, Keiran though.. he didn't make it." He said sadly.

"I'm sorry man." Tony said quitely, patting his back.

"You still owed us the Pizza your boss stole from us," he smiled tiredly.

"Pizza's all round tonight babe." Tony smiled, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

Upon exiting the lift, Tony felt himself relax fractionally having seen so many people he recognized. They all had a bandage somewhere or another and quite a few of them smiled and nodded at him.

"Someone's popular." Tom said with a small smile.

Tony barely registered what he was saying, because there were eight people in particular that he was searching the crowd for. He spotted three of them near the foot of the stairs. Forgetting about his current team he rushed over.

"Anthony!" Ducky exclaimed having made eye-contact with him.

McGee spun around to face Tony who uncharacteristically pulled him into a brief hug. Pulling back, Tony looked over him carefully searching for any serious damage, seeing none, his gaze shifted to Ducky whom put his hands on Tony's shoulder.

"My boy, we're fine." Ducky said.

Tony nodded before turning to Palmer anyway. Palmer had a bandage on his cheek, and that was where Tony lightly rested his hand.

"Take your pain medication," Tony said evenly, looking Palmer square in the eyes.

"I am!" Palmer said, uncomfortably.

Tony said nothing, only poked the bandaged area earning him a hiss of pain from Palmer.

"Medication." Tony said, heading up the stairs towards the directors office where his current team were watching him.

They all gave him a teasing smile as he walked past them.

Tony ignored them and stopped infront of Cynthia's vacant seat, frowning. He shrugged at his team before pushing the doors open.

He felt queasy as he identified the people in the room.

Jenny, Gibbs, Ziva and someone who Tony didn't recognize turned to face him.

"Tony" the Director said lightly, walking over to shake his hand.

Tony flashed her a brief smile trying to get his emotions in order.

Tony looked to Gibbs who had bandages over his left forearm and left knee, along with small cuts on the left side of his face.

"Gibbs," Tony nodded and stepped forward, grasping his hand.

"Thanks for the warning." Gibbs said gruffly.

"Not a problem, just wish it could've been earlier." Tony said softly.

His eyes drifted over to where Ziva was standing without his consent. He unwillingly searched her for damage, her face too was peppered with small cuts and she had a bandage from her jawline to her collarbone.

"David." he said more harshly than he meant, he thought about shaking her hand but she barely even spared him a glance, so he just ended up looking at her without saying anything and the man next to her stepped forward, apparently not feeling the tension in the room.

"I'm Erik Janswaner" He said arrogantly, his hand shooting out to shake Tony's.

Snapping into action Tony began the introductions.

"Director Jenny Shepherd, Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Agent Ziva David," Changing hands he pointed out the men on the other side of the room, "Agents Donald Ressler, Tom Hardman, Peter Quinn and James or Jem Alistair." Tony concluded.

They all stepped forward to shake hands with one another.

Ziva greeted Jem with a casual 'hey' and a small smile having recognized his name.

Jenny began briefing them on their job but Tony didn't hear a word they said, he was too pre-occupied observing the small space between Ziva and 'Erik'. At the back of his mind, Tony knew what was happening between Ziva and Erik wasn't a priority, yet he couldn't justify or comprehend why they had to stand so close together.

The sound of Jenny's voice calling him, pulled him back into reality.

"Um..." Tony said, trying to come up with answer to the question he didn't hear.

"Tony said before that any assistance would be fantastic, all we need is space and we can get started." James said smoothly, throwing Tony an exasperated glance.

Tony caught on and quickly chimed in, "We need to get in touch with the Baghdad office, find out what they know..."

"Who'd you leave in charge?" Jenny asked curiously.

"Erica Jane Barrett." Tony said evenly, feeling the oddest victory as her saw Ziva's body tense up.

"Okay, I was just telling Agent Gibbs that him and his team will be working closely with you to find the culprit behind the attack." Jenny said.

Tony cringed but answered, "That's fine," He was about to excuse himself when another thought crossed his mind, "Cynthia- she's not at her- is she-"

"I told you that my office was the hardest hit area, unfortunately she didn't make it" Jenny said, feigning coldness.

"Sorry, Jen" Tony said quietly, knowing full well how hurt Jenny really was.

"The funeral and memorial is tomorrow for everyone who passed." Jenny choked out.

* * *

Down in the bullpen Tony waited for everyone to get a seat.

Team Gibbs debriefed everyone and Tony felt his heart break a little more as Erik read the list of people who were killed. One of them, Janice, was a good friend of Ziva's.. but Ziva sat there stoically as Erik kept reading. Only a moment after he finished reading did anyone speak.

"Ok I just have to ask," Tom said worriedly, looking at Erik, "Did you walk into a wall or something?"

"No! The blast wave pushed me off my feet and my cranium collided with a metal frame." Erik said, looking at Tom with a disgusted expression.

"So you basically walked into a door then?" Peter said, immediately jumping to Tom's defense.

"He finally speaks... Peter Quinn, I remember you from my days at the CIA... They didn't want you anymore ey?" Erik said aggressively.

Peter said nothing but Tony stood up with a slight smile on his face.

"Jem, I think we can start our interrogation with Erik here." Tony said calmly.

"Interrogation.." Erik said, clearly unimpressed.

"Yup, we have to interrogate _everyone_ here to make sure is wasn't an inside job." Jem said.

"That's ridiculous.. what makes you think that _I'd _ever do anything like that?" Erik said outraged.

"Well you've already demonstrated your respect for you co-workers," Tony said sarcastically and Peter smiled.

"Why don't you start with Ziva then, since you _respect_ her so much." Erik asked, grinning.

Tony felt his anger bubble, but he kept his composure. "I'll get to her later.. its SOP to interrogate everyone."

As Tom, Ressler and Erik headed to the spare room that was the temporary interrogation room, Tony spared a glance at Ziva and immediately regretted it.

She was looking at the yinyang hanging from his neck. When she looked up at him, there was no longer any anger in her eyes, but there was another emotion there that Tony dared not recognize.

* * *

**A/N Yes? Was it ok? ELI ISN'T DEAD IN THIS FIC OKAY... Hahaha like everyone is alive for this:)**

**Anywho thoughts and comments as per usual R&R**

**Aliyah516 xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Hi everyone, so about the long wait.. there was a little delay from my end. But I hope you enjoy this chapter tremendously and do tell me what you think, and feel free to give me constructive ****criticism.. I was told by a friend that it's very beneficial. BTW feel free to give me ideas, a few people have and I've tried to incorporate them into the story (cheesecakebrownie in this chap;) Oh oh do any of my followers watch Sherlock! cause shit went down.**

**hahaha anyywayyyy... Thankyou to my amazing beta who's stressed out yet still amazing at her self appointed job. You idea are incredible too! (bold doesn't show up either hehehe)**

**Thanx for all the reviews follows and favourites I love you all way too much!**

**Guest Reviews as always..**

**Beaj: Thankyou! I do try:) Aliyah516 xx**

**Alexander: Sorry it took me a while to update but thankyou for reviewing and take a guess about the emotion:P ****Aliyah516 xx**

******Guest: THANKYOU FOR YOUR REVEIW! And I hope this chapter has everything you want in it! ****Aliyah516 xx**

******Miapia: I love strong TOny too and I think he'd be a jealous kind of boyfriend... do you see it? Thankyou so much for leaving a review! ****Aliyah516 xx**

* * *

Looking away from Ziva, Tony answered his phone with the usual, "DiNozzo." Smiling he said, "Yeah, yeah, it was fine...Hang on, I'll put you on speaker."

"Hey everyone." EJ said loudly and got a chorus of grunts and hello's in reply.

"Watcha got?" Jem said in a meticulous American accent.

"Well as usual we got about fifty terrorist groups that are lining up to take responsibility for the attack." EJ said.

"Anything that's actually useful EJ?" Tony asked tiredly.

"Hang on Sparky, I'm not done yet." EJ said earning a smile from Tony, "Ahkmahn is remaining unhelpfully silent, but there was a lot activity in the Suwaib district and we have intel from one of our assets that a man by the name of Sharif Oman was sent out of the country 30 minutes after the attack at NCIS HQ. Only that man doesn't _officially _exist, so it must be an alias. He took the 770A plane from Abadan Airport which is 60.1 miles from Suwaib District and get this, his terrorist group, 'Brotherhood of Jihad' claimed responsibility 15 minutes after the attack. We haven't found any ties to Abdul or Ahkmahn yet." EJ recounted.

"Theories guys…" Tony asked, his mind reeling.

"Well Abadan Airport is further than the international airport, which suggests Oman deliberately didn't travel internationally, instead he wanted to stay local… probably somewhere in the Middle-East." Peter said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Brotherhood of Jihad is a typical name for a terrorist group but that suggests that they're amateurs, they flew under the radar until now…(no space between the three periods and the next word)so something changed." Jem said casually, "And even then, why call 15 minutes after the attack? Wouldn't an amateur group be eager to prove themselves if they were in fact behind the attack?"

"Maybe..." Tony paused, thinking aloud, "Maybe they're aren't amateur." He concluded.

"Go on..." Jem encouraged.

"Perhaps Abdul or Ahkmahn had this as their back-up all the time. This attack could have been set up as their plan B, so to speak. This group could be their successors. Maybe they're a full-blown terrorist group that was trying to appear amateur. Sharif could be a distraction to draw our attention away from the rest of the group. Plus, 15 minutes is the perfect amount of time to wait before claiming responsibility. Any earlier would suggest they're a more...established terrorist group and any later suggests that they're trying to look inconspicuous."

"Description?" Peter asked, lost in thought.

"Brown hair, Olive skin, 5 foot 10, medium build and green eyes." EJ answered.

"Great. Well at least that narrows is down to the whole of the Middle-East." Ziva said sarcastically. It was the first time she had spoken during the entire conversation. In fact, she was the only one from Gibbs' team to speak at all. Tony had almost forgotten he was in DC, it had felt like he was back in Baghdad.

"Agent David, long time no speak." EJ said lightly. "Unfortunately, I wasn't a witness so I can't get you specifics, but on the note of Ziva... Sharif Oman's flight landed in the White City of Tel Aviv, Israel. He got out of the airport before the BOLO went out. Guess who the last call he made was too?" EJ asked.

"My father..." Ziva said quietly, after a moment.

"Nailed it." Eli said. Jem and Peter both looked at Tony who shook his head at them quickly.

Ziva looked at Tony suspiciously, "Does that mean anything to you?" She asked.

"No," Tony answered, simply. Gibbs glared them both before speaking.

"Ziva, try and get in touch with Eli." Gibbs said. "McGee, we got an alias…find out what his real name is." Gibbs ordered McGee.

"Peter, get Ressler and find out any connections between Abdul, Ahkmahn and the Brotherhood." Tony said to Peter. "James…" Tony began.

"Yes, yes, reach out to my contacts at MI6 and find out everything about the Brotherhood of Jihad. What are you gonna do?" Jem asked Tony.

"I'm gonna go find out what Abby knows." Tony said, "You coming?" He asked Gibbs.

"No, you seem like you've got it all under control SAC DiNozzo," He said mockingly. Rolling his eyes, Tony walked towards the elevator when McGee called out to him.

"Tread lightly Tony."

* * *

The first thing Tony noticed was that Abby's new lab was tiny, about the size of Gibbs' bullpen.

Tony cleared his throat and Abby spun around to look at him with a startled expression. In less than a moment her expression morphed into anger. "What're you doing here?" She spat.

"I'm not sure if you realized Abs...but NCIS HQ went ka-boom." Tony said calmly.

"You think it's funny?" Abby said, clearly outraged.

"No, I think you asked a stupid question." Tony retorted, just as calmly as before.

"Well I ask stupid people stupid questions DiNozzo." She said, seemingly getting more fired up by Tony's calm demeanor.

Tony sighed before saying, "Abby if you wanna say something please just say it, I have actual work to do."

"YOU BROKE UP OUR TEAM TONY!" She screamed, losing control.

"Abby the team is fin-"

"FINE? EVERYONE ALMOST DIED, IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL FINE?" She continued.

"What difference would it have made if I was here or not?" Tony asked, finally showing some real emotion. This seemed to calm Abby down marginally.

"You guys seem fine, everything is normal, Erik's like me apparently." Tony said.

"He's not like you Tony... He's cold and his main goal in life is to sleep with Ziva, he treats everyone but Ziva and Gibbs like dirt and he-"

This time it was Abby who got cut off, "Gibbs wouldn't allow anyone to treat you or McGee like dirt Abby."

"Gibbs hasn't been Gibbs, he's not seeing as much as he used too, it's like he stopped caring after you left. The only time I saw him show us emotion was after the explosion." Abby said. Tony's head was swimming, but he knew he had other things to deal with.

"I, sorry we, need to catch who is behind this attack Abby, then we can sort everything out." Tony said, regaining his calm. Abby nodded.

"I haven't got much yet. It looks like we had a major security breach though." She said.

"How so?" Tony asked.

"The ventilation system running through NCIS was lined with C4, that's how everywhere from the director's office to interrogation is destroyed." Abby explained. Tony's mouth hung opened as he nodded discreetly.

"Thank you Abby." He said politely, turning to leave.

* * *

"He is still not picking up!" Ziva said, sounding frustrated.

"Family problems?" Ressler asked, looking at her sympathetically. She said nothing but glared at him.

"Abby find anything?" Tim asked Tony as he walked into the bullpen.

"There was a security breach. C4 was in the ventilation shafts." Tony said.

"Ahh...that was my theory." Erik said, earning himself many incredulous glances.

"Ziver?" Gibbs said entering the bullpen, coffee in hand.

"Nothing Gibbs," She answered.

Grimacing, Gibbs said, "McGee! Trace his phone, see who he called last."

"Um...Gibbs that's highly illegal, you know, since he's the Director of Mossad and all. "McGee said quietly, as if he was trying to shield the comment from Tony's team.

"Do I look like I care?" Gibbs asked him.

"You are all kinds of badass." Ressler said grudgingly.

"Ok…coming righ-" McGee began.

"Use my computer." Gibbs told him. Warily McGee moved to Gibbs' computer.

"Bringing it up on the Plasma now boss," McGee said, "Eli seems to be dialing a number. I just need a few second to trace where it's coming from…America...In DC boss," McGee frowned, "It's coming fro-"

Tony's ringtone began to play and he froze in his spot. All eyes spun around to face him except Ziva's, she was still starring at the screen. Carefully, he pulled his phone out of his pocket before answering.

"DiNozzo," He said into the receiver, not taking his eyes off the back of Ziva's head. The look Ziva sent him was so filled with anger that he couldn't hear a thing Eli said. She stormed out of the bullpen with such forced that Tony outwardly winced. "Talk to James." He said into his phone, throwing it to Jem and following Ziva without a second glance at anyone.

* * *

As he entered the basement he saw her pacing up and down. "It is in your better interest to leave me alone for a while Tony." She hissed.

"Probably, but I'm gonna wait right here." Tony said stubbornly.

"Ugh! I could kill you with my own two hands." She spat.

"Ziva, I work in the Middle-East. Of course I have to be on speaking terms with your father." Tony said, exasperatedly.

"No Tony! I asked you and you lied to my face!" Ziva spat at him.

"That's because you would've over-reacted, like you are now. You read too deeply into everythi-" Tony ducked as a stapler came flying towards his head.

"Did you just throw a stapler at my head?" He couldn't help grin. Ziva's eyes softened slightly, the smile was familiar to her. It was about the only familiar thing she'd seen from him since his return.

"You are lucky it wasn't a bullet." Ziva threatened, with less bite than before though.

"Feel better?" Tony asked cheekily.

"Why'd you even come back Tony, we were fine. I was fine without you." Ziva said, trying not to let him off the hook too easily. On the way to the basement, Tony had attempted to prepare himself for the insults that were to come, even so, her words hurt him.

"I didn't come back for you Ziva." Was all he said, full well knowing that what he said was only partly true.

"No, because I have Gibbs and he's all I need right?" Ziva whispered, repeating his last words to her before he left. She was close now that he could see the tears in her eyes.

"I didn't mean that," Tony said quietly, in that tone he only used with her, "You know I didn't...I was angry."

"Why did you have Jem call me?" Ziva asked him, taking a step closer. The tone of Tony's voice was soothing and his cologne inviting. Seeing him standing there, was the most comfort she had felt since the explosion.

"Because I wasn't sure you would've spoken to me." Tony said so quietly that his voice took on a husky tinge to it.

"I didn't need Jem though..." Ziva didn't finish the sentence, but the look in her eyes said it all. I needed you.

"Will you tell me about your sister?" Ziva asked suddenly, taking Tony by surprise. He brought his hand up and he lightly stroked her cheek with the pads of his fingers, his thumb ran over the bandage on her chin.

"Someday." He answered. Ziva just observed Tony face, he look mesmerized in what he was doing, his eyes shining green with an innocence she's never seen in them before. Ziva couldn't help but lean into his touch. And as suddenly as she got there, Ziva remembered that this was Tony Dinozzo. Tony DiNozzo was a womanizer who abandoned his team and family without a second thought. She pulled back and walked away, leaving Tony standing alone and confused.

* * *

**A/N Do tell me your thoughts 'n' stuff!**

**R&R**

**Aliyah516 xx**


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